Sheffield Wednesday are targeting the free agent who has already trained at Middlewood Road

The transfer window doesn’t open for a few weeks, but Danny Rohl has started making plans as he looks to strengthen his ranks.

While the Owls look to tie down some of their key players to new contracts, they are also looking elsewhere for new talent across the field.

Wednesday have already been linked with Arsenal striker Mike Biereth and are now looking towards the middle of the park.

The Yorkshire side have offloaded Tyreeq Bakinson, Momo Diaby, George Byers and Jeff Hendrick this month, so they are in desperate need of adding midfielders to their squad.

While the club are prepared to pay the transfer fees this summer, they have already searched the free agent market.

According to The Star, Sheffield Wednesday are exploring a deal for Ovie Ejaria.

The midfielder was released by Reading before Christmas and has since trained with both the Owls and Plymouth Argyle.

Ejaria spent time at Middlewood Road towards the end of the campaign with a view to signing permanently this summer, although it remains to be seen whether the move will happen.

Who is Ovie Ejaria – former Liverpool gem?

Ovie Ejaria started his senior career with Liverpool where he made his senior debut in 2016.

The midfielder made just six competitive appearances for the Reds before being sent out on loan to Sunderland.

Ejaria was relegated to League One with the Black Cats and joined Rangers where he made 28 appearances and scored in the Europa League.

Steven Gerrard was a big fan of the youngster, praising him after the Europa League win against FC Ufa in 2018.

He said: “I thought it was magnificent and I think this is the strongest 90 minutes he has given us so far.

“I think we’ve seen a lot of flashes and a lot of innings, some good performances, but I think this is his first great performance that he’s announced against a good team. I thought it was excellent from start to finish.”

Ejaria then joined Reading on loan and eventually signed for them permanently in 2020.

The 26-year-old scored nine goals and provided 13 assists in 127 appearances for the Royals before being released in December.

Ejaria has proven to be very versatile in his career, playing all over the midfield as well as on the wing and even as a center forward. Most of his games, however, saw him play in central midfield or left midfield.

Should Sheffield Wednesday sign Ovie Ejaria?

Ovie Ejaria was once thought to have had a lot of potential during his time at Liverpool, but it quickly waned.

The former England U21 international has made just eight senior appearances since 2022, with his last start coming 21 months ago.

While Reading have been a club in turmoil in recent years, there is surely a reason why Ejaria couldn’t even make the cut in the bottom half of League One.

Wednesday can’t follow up on the potential he possessed years ago, and while it’s relatively risk-free if he signs on a free transfer, it feels like a signing the club would have made before Danny Rohl arrived.

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